Kaja Silverman is the Keith L. and Katherine Sachs Professor of Contemporary Art, and the author of eight books: Flesh of My Flesh (2009); James Coleman (2002); World Spectators (2000); Speaking About Godard (with Harun Farocki, 1998); The Threshold of the Visible World (1996); Male Subjectivity at the Margins (1992); The Acoustic Mirror; The Female Voice in Psychoanalysis and Cinema (1988); and The Subject of Semiotics (1983).

Silverman’s current writing and teaching are focused primarily on photography, time-based visual art and painting. She is working on two books about photography: “The Miracle of Analogy,” and “The Promise of Social Happiness.” In “The Miracle of Analogy,” Silverman argues that photography is as old as human civilization, and that it is the world’s primary way of showing itself to us. In “The Promise of Social Happiness” she addresses the form photography has recently assumed: large-format digital and analogue images, that are exhibited in museums instead of books, magazines, and private spaces.

Silverman was recently awarded a Distinguished Achievement Award by the Mellon Foundation, and will be using it to fund a series of conferences, lectures, artist talks and residencies.

Courses Taught

ARTH 294 Contemporary Art

Associate Director:Dr. Ian Verstegen

University of Pennsylvania3405 Woodland Walk105 Jaffe History of Art BuildingPhiladelphia, PA 19104-6125Phone: 215.746.2066verstege@sas.upenn.edu